Door-latch



AUNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. H. ROWE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

DOOR-LATCH.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 52,750, dated February 20, 1866 g antedated September 2, 1865.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, Captain A. H. ROWE, ot' Hartford, in the'county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Door-Latch; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents an inside view of a door with my latch. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same, the line w x, Fig. 1,indicatingthe plane ot' section. Fig. 3 is a detached view of the bolt.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to a door-latch the bolt of which is placed in an upwardly inclined position and has its point curved, so that when the door is slammed or closed without'raising the latch the point of the bolt, on coming in contact with the cap, rises spontaneously, and as soon as the door is fully closed it drops down by its inherent gravity and catches behind the cap. The use of springs can thus be dispensed with, and a latch can be produced which surpasses in simplicity and cheapness everything heretofore made.

A represents a circular plate, which is cut or divided in two parts, one part to support the latch and the other to support the cap. The largest part of said plate is secured to the door and the smallest to the jamb; but it must be remarked that instead of a circular plate a plate of any other form can be used, and the latch and cap can be attached to a bracket of any desired shape, whereby the same can be readily fastened to the door and jamb.

The latch is composed of a bolt, B, which is connected to its bracket by a pivot, a, and passes through a curved staple, b, placed in such a position that when the latch is attached to a door the bolt is held in an oblique position at an angle of about fort-y degrees (more or less) toward the horizon. The point ot' the bolt is chamfered oft', as clearly shown in Fig.3ot' the drawings, and a button, c, is secured to it, by means of which it can be readily raised when the dooris to be opened.

The cap C is secured to its bracket in any desirable manner. It may be cast solid with the same or riveted to it, and it is secured to the jamb of the door in such a position that when the door is slammed or closed without raising the latch the chamfered point of the bolt comes in contact with its edge. Said bolt is thereby raised, and as soon as the door is closed it drops down and the door is locked. No spring is required, and a neat, cheap, and

durable latch can be produced.

lt will be noticed that in my latch everything depends upon thel oblique position ot' the bolt. If the bolt is placed in a horizontal position, it does not rise spontaneously when the door is slammed; but my latch rises and drops readily and without producing a strain on the staple or other parts of the door. 1t is particularly applicable to doors in railwaycars, the pews in churches, and to all doorsv where it is desirable to have the doors close freely and without jar. n

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- As a new article of manufacture, the latch constructed as described.

GAP'r. A. H. ROWE.

Witnesses:

SAME. F. JoNEs, ROGER WELLEs. 

